


Shadows

by planet_plantagenet



Category: Henry IV Part 1 - Shakespeare, Henry V - Shakespeare
Genre: Conversations, Disguise, M/M, Old Friends, War, i didn't mean for this to be shippy but it turned out that way, it's medieval but the dialogue is very anachronistic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 00:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10685715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planet_plantagenet/pseuds/planet_plantagenet
Summary: It's the night before Agincourt: King Henry, in disguise, meets an old friend.





	Shadows

I pulled my cloak a bit closer around me, took a last glance around the forest. But as I turned back towards the English camp, the rustling of fabric caught my eye: another figure was standing among the trees. Their back was turned, and I could see nothing but their dark brown cape and the sturdy boots beneath.

“Sir?” I asked cautiously, making sure to deepen my voice, hopefully disguising it well enough.

The figure turned, fixing his hazel eyes on me. There was something familiar about him, the way his choppy hair fell down just past his ears, or the smooth shape of his face—

_Ned Poins_ . The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, and I stepped backwards in a sudden wave of inexplicable fear. My friend from Eastcheap? _Here?_ Why? I hadn’t known Ned was in the army; he didn’t hang out with Pistol or Nym. Why had I never seen him?

“Did you need something, sir?” asked Ned. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

His voice held little enough emotion that I could tell he didn’t recognize me. Well. I let out a breath, straightened up a little. I could keep up the disguise a bit longer.

“No, just… you look like someone I used to know.”

“Ah.” Ned’s eyes surveyed me again. “Sorry, I thought you were the king.”

A chill passed through me. I tried to sound casual. “Why would you think that?”

“You walk like him.” He shrugged.

“You know how the king walks, then?”

“Yeah.”

Ned’s answers were short, as if he didn’t want to elaborate, but I pressed him on. “You know him well, then?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Why are you avoiding my questions?”

“Why are _you_ nosing into my relationship with Henry?” he shot back.

That made me pause. I racked my brains for some kind of small, believable lie. “Um. I know him too.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “You do, do you.”

“Yeah. Not well, but, y’know. He’s cool.”

I studied Ned’s reaction carefully. He said nothing. It occurred to me that a conversation with Ned might be even more valuable than that with Bates, Court, and Williams: he’d known me before I was king, and therefore might have a more informed opinion on my leadership style, or something.

Or maybe I just wanted the validation of a friend.

“So, why are you here?” I finally asked.

“Here?” he echoed.

“In the army.”

“Well, we were all supposed to come serve the king, right?”

I clarified. “Right. Uh. Does the king know you’re here?”

“Not that I know of,” replied Ned, eyeing me again—probably just a reaction to the odd question, but I couldn’t help but feel like he was seeing straight through my disguise. “I’ve… sort of stayed away from him, I guess.”

This, of course, piqued my curiosity. “How come?”

Ned’s gaze dropped to the ground. “He’s changed since I saw him last. Don’t tell him, but—well—”

I froze, every scrap of attention fixed upon Ned’s words. He was still looking at his feet; he didn’t notice my alarmed demeanor.

“He almost scares me now,” Ned finally said quietly. “He turned away all his old friends, right? I wasn’t there, but I heard about it. He’s not who he was. And when I see him around camp, he always looks so regal. Nothing like the giggling prankster I used to know.”

I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat. I was only barely holding onto my disguised voice. “Maybe—maybe he’s still got that in him? Just… he can’t show it so often, because he’s king.”

“Maybe.” Ned took a deep breath. “But I can’t help thinking… he banished his best friend Falstaff. Banished him! And if I’d been there… would he have banished me too?”

“I—”

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut—an action that did no good against the single tear that trickled down his cheek. I could feel my own eyes starting to sting. “I—I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling this to a complete stranger. It’s just that you look so much like him, and I guess your questions kind of—”

“Ned, I—”

Ned’s eyes snapped open at the sound of his own name—and suddenly became very wide. In a single sweep of his hand, he tore off my hood.

Then I was standing before him as Henry again, my characteristic curly brown hair leaving no trace of doubt on his face. His hands rested on my shoulders, and he stared at me with a look of astonishment, then realization.

“—I’m sorry,” I finished quietly, voice settling back into its normal range.

No sooner had the words escaped my lips then Ned, arms now wrapped around my neck and gaze focused intently, pulled me toward him and kissed me hard. Needless to say I was not expecting that at all. I froze, rooted to the spot—then slowly relaxed as Ned’s grip lessened, and I began to realize that I was actually really enjoying this.

Fortunately, it was dark enough and we were deep enough in the forest that we likely wouldn’t be noticed by any stray soldiers. But even so, I couldn’t help wondering what they would think if they saw us. Two men swearing fealty to each other? But in the middle of the night, in a forest? And so… passionately?

Ned suddenly broke away, hastily and awkwardly stepping backwards. It was too dark to tell for sure, but he was probably blushing furiously. A second of silence followed.

“That was nice,” I said finally, probably a bit too casually.

He closed his eyes and pressed his palms to his temples as if wishing to melt into the ground. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I quickly changed the subject.

“Ned—I wouldn’t have banished you.”

Pause. Ned looked up at me. “Why not?”

“Because you’re my friend.” Friend? Or something else? I decided to leave the word be for now.

“So was Falstaff.”

“Yes, but Falstaff was… Falstaff had to go. In the public’s eye, he was the symbol of all my unruliness. So I had to… y’know….” I scrambled for the right words. “Separate myself from him.”

“So you don’t regret what you did.” Ned’s voice held a kind of forced calm.

“I don’t regret casting him away. But I regret how I did it. I didn’t want to… sever our ties so completely.”

“And banishing him—?”

“That just sort of… came out of my mouth. It wasn’t intentional.”

That was a tiny lie. His banishment was no accident at the time. But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel bad about it now.

“I’m sorry, Ned,” I said again after a second. “I hope we can… rekindle our relationship?”

Ned blinked. “But you’re the king now.”

“Yeah. But—maybe after this is all over—if we don’t all die in the battle tomorrow—I won’t have to be king all the time, you know? Or at least, I won’t have to act all kingly. I bet I could take a break once in awhile. Come and see you.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course.”

For the first time in our conversation, a tiny smile spread across Ned’s face. “Thank you, Hal.”

No one had called me Hal in forever, and the name made me grin. “You’re welcome, Ned.”

**Author's Note:**

> The title, "Shadows," is a reference to Poins' line— "I am your shadow, my lord; I'll follow you."  
> And also because the fic takes place in the night, of course!


End file.
